Document.write()

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Syntax
Notes
Specifications
Browser compatibility
See also

The Document.write() method writes a string of text to a document stream opened by document.open().

Note: as document.write writes to the document stream, calling document.write on a closed (loaded) document automatically calls document.open, which will clear the document.

Syntax

document.write(markup);

Parameters

markup: A string containing the text to be written to the document.

Example

<html>

<head>
  <title>write example</title>

  <script>
    function newContent() {
      document.open();
      document.write("<h1>Out with the old - in with the new!</h1>");
      document.close();
    }
  </script>
</head>

<body onload="newContent();">
  <p>Some original document content.</p>
</body>

</html>

Notes

Writing to a document that has already loaded without calling document.open() will automatically call document.open. Once you have finished writing, it is recommended to call document.close() to tell the browser to finish loading the page. The text you write is parsed into the document's structure model. In the example above, the h1 element becomes a node in the document.

If the document.write() call is embedded within an inlined HTML <script> tag, then it will not call document.open(). For example:

<script> 
  document.write("<h1>Main title</h1>") 
</script>

Note: document.write and document.writeln do not work in XHTML documents (you'll get a "Operation is not supported" [NS_ERROR_DOM_NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR] error in the error console). This happens when opening a local file with the .xhtml file extension or for any document served with an application/xhtml+xml MIME type. More information is available in the W3C XHTML FAQ.

Note: document.write in deferred or asynchronous scripts will be ignored, and you'll get a message like "A call to document.write() from an asynchronously-loaded external script was ignored" in the error console.

Note: In Edge only, calling document.write more than once in an <iframe> causes the error SCRIPT70: Permission denied.

Note: Starting in 55, Chrome will not execute <script> elements injected via document.write() in case of an HTTP cache miss for users on a 2G connection. See here for a list of the conditions that need to be met for this to be true.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living Standard The definition of 'document.write(...)' in that specification.	Living Standard
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 HTML Specification The definition of 'document.write(...)' in that specification.	Obsolete

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge Mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
Basic support	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge ?	Firefox Full support Yes	IE ?	Opera ?	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android ?

Legend

Full support: Full support
Compatibility unknown: Compatibility unknown

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Last updated by: chrisdavidmills, Jan 7, 2019, 3:04:56 AM